Earlier this week I decided to crash Magic Live with some friends and hang out at the bar of the hotel. Normally I wouldn’t do this, I would register, however the magic convention was sold out, so that wasn’t an option.
It was a blast running into everyone in the bar! It was a fun meeting a lot of people I know through social media, but have never met in real life. This is one of the really important things about magic conventions right now, is that are taking relationships that exist virtually and making them real life!
Once a month my buddy Matt Baker and I put on a variety show on Zoom. The show is at 5pm (pst) today! We host the show and bring in three amazing acts. This month we have:
One of the things that I don’t really do is perform as a character. What I mean by character is dressing up like a cowboy and being a “cowboy magician”. Some people perform as a popular movie character, or celebrity. The main reason I don’t do this is that I can’t character act, and most … Continue reading “”
One of the things that I don’t really do is perform as a character. What I mean by character is dressing up like a cowboy and being a “cowboy magician”. Some people perform as a popular movie character, or celebrity.
The main reason I don’t do this is that I can’t character act, and most magicians can’t either. Many think they can, without any acting training, and these are probably the same people that get upset when an actor learns a magic trick and people think that trick is amazing.
Doing a character is more that just a costume. For example here’s someone that performs “as Sponge Bob:
Unfortunately they don’t do a voice, they don’t do the trick that Sponge Bob would do. It’s a guy wearing a cheap outfit doing a normal show. This in my opinion is a cash grab, someone trying to make a buck and not giving a sh!t. I don’t know his life circumstance, maybe he really needs the money, but this is a very short sighted way to get it.
A better way would be to take some acting classes, learn whatever character you are going to be doing, select material that fits it. Here’s a good example of doing it right:
This performer is doing a Captain Jack Sparrow style character, however the costume is correct to the character. It’s not a halloween costume. Also look at the material selection, he’s using swords and it looks like a sword basket in the background. This is a show that makes sense with the character.
If you do a character, do it right. If you care, audiences will care.
Last week I was having lunch with a couple of magician friends, and jamming magic tricks. This is one of the best ways to create magic, it to just riff on ideas. We came up some some interesting ideas and expanded on some existing ideas. When I’m out somewhere I like to think of ideas … Continue reading “Impromptu Tricks…”
Last week I was having lunch with a couple of magician friends, and jamming magic tricks. This is one of the best ways to create magic, it to just riff on ideas.
We came up some some interesting ideas and expanded on some existing ideas.
When I’m out somewhere I like to think of ideas for magic tricks using things around me. This day we were at the LunchBox Lab in Seattle. On their tables they have seven different flavors of salt. So here’s a quick trick I did with the salt:
This trick is nothing ground breaking from a method standpoint, it’s essentially a card trick done with salt. In this situation using their salt gave it a feeling of being unplanned, and I think that made it feel more amazing to the waitress.
TLDR: Think about doing magic tricks with things around you.
